PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa has forfeited the performance guarantee of Rs 90,000 that was submitted by the Colva panchayat and Rs 60,000 that was submitted by the Rachol panchayat for failing to set up material recovery facilities as per the timeline set out by the High Court at Goa.
Hearing the long-pending petitions on the issue of setting up of a garbage disposal mechanism, the High Court had issued directions that each village panchayat will set up a material recovery facility for the segregation of dry waste that was generated within the village.
However, while a large number of panchayats have complied with the directions, despite several warnings from the High Court, several panchayats have failed to do so.
On Wednesday, the High Court directed that the Rachol and Colva panchayats forfeit the money that they were directed to deposit in a bid to ensure that they set up the MRF on time and instead offered them a new timeline of February 2023 provided they provide a fresh guarantee with each panch member being directed to deposit Rs 10,000.
Similar warnings have been issued to the village panchayats of Batim and St Lourenço as well.
The High Court had, via an order passed in September last year, had restrained panchayats that had failed to set up MRFs from issuing construction licences until proper MRFs were constructed and made functional.
The High Court has given several deadlines and warnings, yet despite several decades having passed since the matter was first taken up, it yet remains unresolved.
